Skip to main content

Paris air pollution: back with a vengeance

Analysis of French capital's air quality finds it worsening quickly post-lockdown
By Adam Hill June 30, 2020 Read time: 2 mins
City of Light: a bit murkier than during lockdown (© Jerome Cid | Dreamstime.com)

Well, that didn't last long: one of the few benefits of the Covid-19 lockdown - cleaner air - is disappearing fast in Paris, according to new research.

Analysis of official air quality monitoring data by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (Creca) shows that the city has seen the largest 'rebound' in NO2 pollution among European capitals, followed by Brussels and Bucharest. 

The organisation says its definition of rebound is the difference between the ‘lowest’ and the ‘latest’ 30-day mean, until June 20.

Urban lockdowns due to the pandemic resulted in sharp decreases in NO2 levels, with cities reaching "their minimum level 24 days after first measures were implemented".

It is not all bad news: while pollution is on the rise again, all capitals apart from Budapest are below their pre-Covid-19 levels after accounting for weather conditions.

They "have seen a significant decrease of air pollution compared to the previous years", with each city below the 40µg/m3 limit set by European Union regulations. 

Yet many are still above the 20µg/m3 threshold, above which the risk of death increases according to the World Health Organisation.

Bucharest, Paris, Lisbon and Milan saw the largest reductions in air pollution during lockdown, "demonstrating the benefits to be reaped if air pollution can be reduced in a more sustainable way". 

However, the report notes that the four cities "were among the most-polluted European cities before the pandemic outbreak".

Paris saw the second largest decrease attributable to lockdown - a 60% fall compared to the city's pre-Covid level. 

"The increase in pollution is not an inevitable price to be paid for freedom of movement - clean transport solutions can enable mobility without pollution," insists Creca in its report.

The report recommends moving quickly towards "clean energy and clean transport", in part by supporting cycling and walking - and creating space for both as a priority in urban planning.

Related Content

  • Imperatives to shape extended mobility ecosystems of tomorrow
    April 10, 2014
    New survey shows cities ill prepared to meet the increasing demand for urban mobility. Most of the world’s cities are ill-equipped to cope with the predicted increase in demands on urban travel – that is the stark finding of the second ‘Future of Urban Mobility’ study carried out by global management consultancy Arthur D. Little. Compiled in association with the International Association of Public Transport (UITP), the survey examines and rates urban mobility in 84 cities worldwide against an extended set o
  • ITS European Congress 2023: ‘It’s about mobility’
    May 15, 2023
    ITS European Congress 2023 in Lisbon will deliberately focus on a broad range of transport modes. Joost Vantomme and Lisa Boch-Andersen from organiser Ertico explain why
  • Study looks at air quality impacts of low carbon buses
    December 11, 2013
    A new report prepared by Ricardo for the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP) to review the air quality impacts arising from the recent rapid increase in the number of low carbon buses in the UK recommends that the legislation needs to consider hybrid technology impacts in the test processes to avoid potential unintended consequences in terms of local emissions. As they mainly operate in urban areas, local emissions from buses are of particular significance. Reviewing worldwide test processes for
  • European traffic volumes moving back to fast lane
    July 31, 2020
    Most countries are getting back to pre-Covid levels of activity